Lead poisoning plan still short of City's goal

Published 4:00 am, Friday, April 23, 1999

1999-04-23 04:00:00 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco is on the right track, but far from its mandated goal to make children free from the threat of lead poisoning, officials reported.

Seven years after The City adopted what was then described as the most comprehensive lead-prevention program in the nation, public facilities - from water fountains in schools to recreation center gymnasiums - are still tainted with the poisonous substance. However, city agencies have mapped out strategies to abate the problem through cleanup efforts and to educate families on how lead poisoning can be prevented.

"Now's the time for the rubber to meet the road to see if they can create lasting programs that will be institutionalized and effective," said Neil Gendel, director of Healthy Children Organizing Project, a community-based group that has been pushing hard for lead-poisoning prevention measures.

Lead poisoning, which is often caused by ingesting lead-based paint chips, is widely recognized as one of the most serious health risks to children under age 6. There are an estimated 38,000 kids in that age group in The City, and more than 20,000 of them come from poor households, which are considered most at risk, Gendel said.

High levels of lead in a child's system can cause severe developmental disabilities, stunted growth, loss of hearing and behavioral problems.

If lead poisoning is detected early in a child, its long-term side effects can be completely eradicated. In 1978, the federal government banned manufacturers from using lead in paints. But in San Francisco, 94 percent of the housing units were built before the ban - creating a large universe for potential problems.

What they plan to do&lt;

Supervisor Sue Bierman held a City Hall hearing Thursday to find out what key departments have done to attack the problem and what they plan to do in the future.

Among the initiatives already under way:

*The Recreation and Park Department has begun surveying its facilities to determine contamination levels and started cleaning them up. Of the 205 Recreation and Park Department facilities, 31 have been evaluated, with lead problems found in varying degrees. Joel Robinson, who heads the department, didn't know how long it would take to finish assessing all the buildings, parks and playgrounds. But, he said, the goal is to take care of the most hazardous situations by year's end.

Bierman told Robinson to make it a priority.

"When you figure that all it takes is just a little tiny bit of paint, chipped, to have lead poisoning, there ought to be some way to speed things up," she said.

*The Department of Human Services, with the help of a federal grant, is working to ensure that homes in which foster and adopted children are placed have been cleared of lead contamination.

*The library has begun distributing informational materials on preventing lead poisoning at its branches.

*The water department provides free testing of residential water supplies in homes of low-income families.

*The Health Department tests children considered to be at high risk of lead poisoning, and tracks and treats those whose blood lead-level exceeds federal standards. There are currently 544 kids who are being "case-managed" by the Health Department's lead abatement program. Karen Cohn, who runs the program, said there are probably a couple hundred more kids who should be enrolled, but who haven't been tested, the trigger that gets them into the system.

More kids need testing&lt;

Cohn estimated that less than a quarter of the children who should be tested, have been - a problem that she said is of great concern to health officials. It is of paramount importance to get the word out to parents that the only way to help their kids is to find out if they've been poisoned, she said. City agencies that have regular contact with families, whether they are in schools, day care centers, recreation programs, libraries, public housing or the social service system, have been directed to use every opportunity they have to provide information.